United Way of Southwest Michigan launches campaign to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library during National Reading Month in March

United Way has already received large lead gifts that bring us almost halfway to our goal. Contributions of all amounts from the community will get the campaign the rest of the way!

March is National Reading Month, and United Way of Southwest Michigan is launching a fundraising campaign in March 2024 to bolster Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties.

UWSM is currently implementing strategies for cost optimization to improve the financial health of the organization as well as this popular program—and has decided to pause accepting new enrollees to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for 2024. United Way will continue to provide the program to current enrollees. This pause will enhance the program’s efficiency in the short-term to improve its long-term sustainability.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides books free of charge to all children under the age of 5 and their families, regardless of income. However, the cost for United Way to provide this program is close to $30 per child per year. Currently, nearly 8,000 children are enrolled in the program in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. With nearly 1,000 children turning 5 and “graduating” from the program throughout 2024, United Way will need approximately $210,000 to support the program in 2024. Raising that amount is the goal of the campaign during National Reading Month in March.

UWSM is seeking financial contributions, large and small, from donors

throughout Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties.

United Way has already secured substantial financial commitments to kickstart the effort.

The McLoughlin Family Foundation and the De Groot Family Foundation have EACH generously provided a $25,000 lead gift to United Way of Southwest Michigan in support of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. This contribution will be used specifically to help cover the cost for children who are currently enrolled in this program, so that they can continue to participate in DPIL in 2024. Both families care about children and their education, and want to see this valuable early childhood literacy program continue to be available to the youngsters in our community. The McLoughlin and De Groot Families hope that their contributions will inspire and encourage others to support this special fundraising effort so that children in our community can continue to benefit from participation in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2024 and beyond.

Additionally, the Berrien County Great Start Collaborative has committed at least $50,000 to the program from the state school aid fund appropriated to Berrien County for the purpose of improving access to books and other literacy materials for children from birth to age 5. These funds will allow current enrollees of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Benton Harbor, Benton Heights, Niles, Fairplain, and Berrien Springs to continue to receive books through 2024. These areas were chosen in order to prioritize enrollment to those families with the highest levels of economic need.

We are already halfway to our goal!

Help us reach it. We think you can!

“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has been one of United Way’s most beloved programs in our community for years. United Way is confident that its many supporters—including those individuals and families who have benefited from it—will rally behind this fundraising effort and contribute to ensure this program will continue to serve as many children and families in Southwest Michigan as possible. ”
— Anna Murphy, President & CEO of United Way of Southwest Michigan.

Why Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is important to Southwest Michigan

  • According to the Michigan Department of Education, 56% of third graders in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties are not meeting reading proficiency.

  • 75% of children who are poor readers in third grade will be poor readers in high school. Many of these children will struggle or eventually drop out of school.

  • In order for children to possess the proper reading skills in third grade, efforts at developing literacy abilities need to begin much sooner. Research shows that the learning environment at home, even from the very birth of a child, has tremendous impact on the short-term and long-term reading capability of a child.

  • Children develop much of their capacity to learn in the first three years of life, when their brains grow to 90% of their eventual adult weight.

  • Studies show that when children enter school with age-appropriate language and literacy skills, they are more likely to read at or above grade level by third grade. They are also better prepared to succeed in later grades.

  • Immersing a child in a literacy-rich environment from birth can be a stronger predictor of literacy and academic achievement than family income.